When installing insulated electrical wires into Insulation Displacement type electrical Connectors (IDCs) it has been a standard practice to use a wire insertion tool blade for pushing the insulated wire down between the pair of knives of the connector. My U.S. Pat. No. 7,096,564 issued Aug. 29, 2006 shows the manner in which the tool blade controls the insertion of an insulated wire into an insulation displacement type electrical connector. The knives then cut through the insulation to make an electrical connection. The wire insert tool blade typically also includes a cutting edge for cutting off a protruding end portion of the wire after it has been inserted, if the wire is to then become electrically terminated at that particular connector.
In the communications industry such wire insert tool blades are commonly referred to as either a 110 Blade, or a 66 Blade, depending upon the type of electrical panel where the installation is being made. One example of a 110 tool blade is shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 7,096,564 issued Aug. 29, 2006. An example of a combination 66-110 blade is shown in my Patent No. Des. 412,431.
Such tool blades are commonly mounted in or upon a punch-down or impact tool, also known as a bayonet type impact tool, which when activated applies a driving impact in a forward direction to the tool blade. The presently standard punch-down tools when activated develop a fixed amount of driving force or impact. However, in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/175,466 filed Jul. 5, 2005, I have shown a low-impact kind of punch-down tool for which the downward driving force can be precisely adjusted or controlled by the operator.
Not only may such punch-down tools need adjustment or control of their driving force, but a further requirement for such tools is convenience for the user. As the connector board technology has progressed the connectors have become more and more crowded and have become difficult to work with.
The electrician or tradesman needs not only adequate working space for manipulating or controlling the tool assembly, but also equally needs adequate visibility of the location where the result of the work takes place. The nature of both those requirements varies somewhat depending upon the type of electrical panel, the type of punch-down tool, and other factors.